EgyptWide for Human Rights released a report focusing on Lake Burullus, Lake Mariout, Lake Ghalioun and Lake Manzala, saying the expansion of military-run operations has consolidated military control over the fishing sector while depriving thousands of fishers of their traditional livelihoods.
The organization’s findings are based on policy analysis, documentation of human rights violations and interviews with affected residents.
According to the report, the interventions were publicly presented as initiatives to boost fish production, reduce poverty and unemployment, and curb irregular migration. However, following the military’s acquisition of lake waters and existing aquaculture facilities, local fishers were denied access to traditional fishing areas and subjected to increasingly restrictive licensing procedures, the group said.
No compensation was provided for lost income, and many fishers were forced into debt, in some cases leading to imprisonment under Egyptian law, according to the report.
EgyptWide also documented widespread repression linked to the projects. Between March 2020 and July 2024, more than 140 fishers were arbitrarily arrested on charges ranging from fishing without a license to alleged affiliation with terrorist groups, the organization reported.
Many detainees spent years in pretrial detention, were referred to military courts and were held in overcrowded conditions, often without credible evidence being presented, the report said.
Amnesty International reported in February that five fishermen were arrested at Lake Bardawil in January and faced military trials for fishing during prohibited periods. The organization called trying civilians in military courts a flagrant violation of Egypt’s international human rights obligations.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi placed Lake Bardawil under military jurisdiction in 2019. In 2022, he established the Egypt’s Future for Sustainable Development Agency, which has since assumed control of several lakes, including Lake Manzala, according to the news website Mada Masr.
The government has said the development projects aim to restore lake ecosystems and increase fish production. On its official website, the government announced plans to increase overall fish production to 3 million metric tons by 2025, with priority given to Lakes Manzala, Burullus, Mariout and Bardawil.
Beyond local impacts, EgyptWide argues that military control of fishing and aquaculture reflects the broader militarization of Egypt’s economy since 2014. This process, marked by secrecy, lack of accountability and the absence of civilian oversight, has distorted markets and marginalized democratic institutions, the organization said.
The report concludes that the lake projects represent a pattern of dispossession rather than development. Rather than alleviating poverty or discouraging migration, military-led projects have displaced civilian businesses, excluded locals from employment and intensified the economic pressures driving communities toward dangerous migration routes, EgyptWide said.
EgyptWide is one of several Egyptian human rights organizations that contributed to a joint report in December 2024 on the human rights situation in Egypt submitted to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review.
